Vice President, Talent and Leadership Development

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The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable foundation committed to disadvantaged children and their families. With a culture that is both result and data driven, its work influences the highest level of public policy discussions on fundamental issues that face impoverished families, their neighborhoods and the country at large. It is widely acknowledged as one of the most effective, influential and well-run philanthropies in America. The Foundation is now one of the largest private philanthropies in the world and the largest private foundation focused on the welfare of children. With assets of more than $2.8 billion, it awards more than $176 million in grants each year. The Foundation employs approximately 200 people. Additional information about the Foundation’s initiatives can be found at www.aecf.org.

Talent and Leadership Development

The Annie E. Casey Foundation seeks an accomplished vice president for Talent and Leadership Development to join one of the nation’s most influential and respected foundations. The vice president for Talent and Leadership Development is a member of the Foundation’s Senior Leadership Team and is expected to contribute to the overall strategic management of the Foundation. The Talent and Leadership Development portfolio includes three units: Leadership Development, Organizational Development and Race Equity and Inclusion. These units work in high alignment with each other and with all other units of the Foundation to advance the Foundation’s mission. The tactics used to achieve the mission include national grant making, internal and external capacity building and field building.

Leadership Development: This work, developed over the past 20 years, provides results-based leadership development to leaders in the field working on behalf of children, families and communities. Our unique brand of leadership development is a competency-based model built on the foundations of Results-Based Accountability and Results Based Facilitation. Our signature program, the Children and Family Fellowship, is the oldest of our programs and generates knowledge for the many other leadership programs we run. Many of our programs have alumni networks supported by the Foundation.

Organizational Development: The Organizational Development team ensures that the Foundation has a well thought out and consistent approach to the professional and career development of our staff. The team also facilitates most of the Foundation-wide meetings, provides consulting and facilitation support to Casey teams and works in close partnership with our Human Resources Department. Additionally, this unit provides, with other Casey partners, capacity-building support to the Foundation’s mission critical grantees.

Race Equity and Inclusion: This body of work aspires to create equitable opportunities for children and families and focuses on how race impacts their futures. This team provides training and tools for Casey staff to ensure that race equity is given serious consideration in our work. An important component of the work is field building, centered on data to inform decisions, policy advocacy and reform and tools for the social sector.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in one of the nation’s most important civic institutions and to engage in substantive philanthropic work. The position calls for leadership and creative vision, a focus on results, ability to move proven ideas to scale, national visibility, strengths in outreach and collaboration, outstanding communication and managerial skills and a demonstrated commitment to the Foundation’s mission and role in creating equitable opportunities for the country’s most disadvantaged children and families.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, this person will play a key role with the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. He or she is expected to have a deep understanding of all of the Foundation’s work and be able to represent the Foundation’s point of view on current issues in the field. Senior leaders work closely with the President and CEO in establishing Foundation policy and practice and in the overall development of the Foundation’s budget. Senior leaders lead by example in upholding the vision, values and culture of the Foundation.

The vice president is expected to take calculated risks while protecting the Foundation’s reputation, navigate complex environments and demonstrate ambition and humility about achievable progress for low-income children and families. The vice president also:

provides leadership and direction in setting the overall results, indicators and strategies within the Talent and Leadership Development department;

provides overall guidance and recommendations for developing new strands of work and stays abreast of cutting edge/best practices as they relate to informing the next generation of the unit’s work;

is the lead spokesperson for the department and its work;

ensures alignment in the principles, priorities and practices within the various components of the department; and

develops and strengthens partnerships with key stakeholders across the country.

Reporting and Supervisory Responsibilities:

Reports to: President and CEO

Location: The Foundation’s headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, and staff are expected to reside within daily commuting distance from the Foundation.

Collaboration: Works with all other teams and units across the Foundation and partners in the field

Knowledge and Experience

Demonstrated experience in creating and articulating a vision and moving the vision to action

Significant work experience with public and nonprofit organizations and demonstrated understanding of the role of leadership in achieving results

Demonstrated experience in working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders

A national reputation for producing tangible and durable results in the leadership of organizations and partnerships

Experience using data and metrics for assessing progress and shifting strategies and tactics if needed

Proven aptitude in collaborating with peers to share knowledge, build coalitions and take aligned action

Demonstrated ability to accountably manage a multimillion-dollar budget and contribute to responsible oversight of a large endowment

Significant aptitude and imagination to understand and respond to the implications of Casey’s work in today’s environment

Values

A deep commitment to, and experience in, working on behalf of vulnerable populations in the United States

An understanding of the impact of race, class, culture and language on family success and a commitment to creating equitable opportunities for all U.S. children and families

Openness to new ideas; a creative and innovative mind energetically searching for new solutions

Temperamental readiness to embrace complexity, to set ambitious goals and to take intelligent risks

An appreciation and respect for the importance of engagement and participation of partners in the design and development of the work

A thorough comfort with and appreciation for diversity

Style

Internal management style that emphasizes the primacy of mission, the sharing of credit and clear accountability for results

Comfort with an inclusive, transparent, non-hierarchical and cooperative organizational culture

Ability to convey powerfully and persuasively Casey's ideas, experience, values and strategies to diverse influential audiences; a public communication style that emphasizes what "we" think, rather than who "I" am

Ability to advocate and negotiate for achieving results in complicated and often politically charged reform projects with multiple and frequently contending stakeholders and significant economic constraints